#MeToo

A rallying cry against sexual assault and harassment

It started with an exposé on the allegations cast against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. What followed was a worldwide movement to uncover the personal stories of many more incidents of assault and harassment. #MeToo was the rallying cry against sexual assault, which changed industries and toppled giants.

Strong as Hell

“We wanted our piece to focus on how women are not only strong as individuals but as a collective and #MeToo represents this. Women are stronger when they unite – they can lift each other up. We hope our art has done this amazing campaign justice.”

Miss Gloria Design are two female designers with a message.

#Metoo

Alyssa Milano’s original tweet read: “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” The tweets did just that. Facebook reported that within 24 hours, 4.7 million people around the world engaged in the #MeToo conversation, with more than 12 million posts, comments and reactions. The hashtag brought to light many more cases of sexual assault, and the virtual support network of social media gave women the confidence to discuss their experiences openly, many for the first time.

What else happened in 2017?

Viral news gets questioned

‘Fake news’ was not a widely-used term, but it’s now seen as a big threat to democracy. It may even lead to a regulation of social media.

Teen tweets for nuggets

Carter Wilkerson tweets fast-food chain Wendy’s asking how many retweets he needs for a year of free nuggets. 18M, apparently. #NuggsForCarter was spawned.

Social steps up

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hit the US, and victims turn to social media for help. Communities rally and come to the assistance of anyone in need.

Trump gets nasty

Trump describes Hilary Clinton as a ‘nasty woman’ during a debate, sparking outrage on social. The phrase becomes a rallying cry for women voters.